.

-
.., , ,- .', .
. , -
. : .. : . ...
. -. ;

. . .... .. ~

THEHANDBOOK
OF
.. TEXTILE
CULTURE
-"- -
/4J,
11 EDITED
BYJANIS
DIANA
WOOD
JEFFERIES,
CONROYANO
HAZELClARK

8 L O O M S l3 U R Y

Scanned by CamScanner
 Bloomsbury
Academic
An imprint of Bloomsbury Publi shi ng Ple

50 Bedlord Square 1385 Broad way

London NewYo rk
WC1B3DP NY 10018
UK U SA

www.bloomsbury.com

BLOOMSBURY and the Diana logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Ple

First published 2016

© Janis Jetteries. Diana Wood Conroy and Hazel Clark, 2016

Janis Jetteries. DianaWood Conroy and Hazel Clark have asserted thei r right under
the Copyright, Des1gnsand Patents Act, 1988, to be identi l ied as Editors of t his w ork.

Ali rights reserved. No part of this publication may be repr od uced or transm 1tted
in any form or by any means, electron ic or mechanical, including pho tocopy ing,
recording, or any information storage or retrieval system , w ithout prior
permission in writing from the pub lishers .

No responsibility far loss caused to any individual or organ izat ion act ing on
or refraining from action as a result of the mate rial in this publicat ion can be
accepted by Bloomsbury or the author.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the Brit ish Library .

ISBN HB: 978-0-8578-775-0

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

A catalog record for this book is avaitable from the Library of Congress .

Typeset by RefineCatch limited. Bungay, Suttolk

Pnnted and bound in Great Britain

Scanned by CamScanner
l t~ \ \,r \'1 ,11 ,-.: li
~ 1.Ht :- \,:,.; \.\,:-,;r '11\\'l\'t, , ld' II
l\' ' r\ \ \ ._,, lp ( V/

.\ d , ~\'WI n, ;r:-.n ~, ~ , · vi ¡

~ ·w :\ ppt\' ;h.'h\'.~t\, '\¡-~¡¡k 11,·~ii:n I '/

I i-:~t i t "I,: ~

\' ic\\ , Ú '11\ Aw:tr.11i;1;11nlth t t\~i.1 l\ 1d li1·

l)i ,~:\ ; \\ "'
,l,,l \ , a,, y

'11r,1ti11~: T· :\tik:- : Thl ' SHdfTh i,1 1\\ ,1\H'l'~

~u~,.\l. :::i-:(:ti . Ali1·c·;\111t.:rd .wd t\1.-
.,· ,\\ 11',1,1.·/ 10 \'.' ,,, , /l lf r 11•lt-11• 11•/f/,
1

S::i· Si,~, ·l.:11f1

!j 1

5 l'.\t\'11w,,r~i11,: ..·:- l'f ~'" ' "'"'H :md l\l,1ki111:

... \'i';1, ..._ ' (,~
K ·-:\~:i:,; l .i:h!~'II\'; •: ,: ~,! r" \~·.: Stl1J·I
(, ~l .1~,11~: ~IH\\\'11 : Tlw 'll-xtik ~ T111 itlr~l!-,,t N ltll' ·1·1·1
1ll•ll'l:- l'1-rdH 11111 ·1,;111
'lh til · Thinkin~: 71,
(."l.:i ' l ,:i,:,~:_l...'t):t'$k,:
6

EdiN.1ri;1I l11m1dm:1iu11
J.,ii~_li·ffc:i,._,
.

1Ch1 d1
l\ithlin~:.-\,rn,t,¡,,~:r.lphh·:-: t\ J1.•wiid1in! 10'1
K.:t_,-,; t icl·(· :.w
:,; ~l.m•ri.11:-. l\k1m1rk l>.111dt\k1.1ph'1t'~: Tht 'H·~tilt ~tlf ll1·/t't1lln:1rd 1 1
~p/;-;.
:(i:}:( ;p,(/f

Scanned by CamScanner
 l

\'111

l " P:ist ¡11 Rc-visioning Textiles

9 Archi\'cS of Clorh: Sh:ldows Of t le • 137
Di,111,1
WoodCo11ro)'
. . . S · of Young Irish Suicide 149
1O Liwd LiYcs: ~br en :11m ng ron es
Sc.w111sMcG11i111
1ess

PARTTHREE: TEXTILES ANO GLOB ALIZATION

Editorial lntroduction 165

Ha:cl Clark
11 Performing Glob:1liz;1tion in rhe Texrile Indusrry: Anne Wilson and
~1:md,· Cano Vilbl obos 169
Lisa Vi11eb
.111111
12 Ch::mging Perceptions of Curarorial Prncrice in South Asian and
Commonwealth Te:-.: tilcs 187
t't!1tDhami¡,.1
Jc1sl

13 Quilrs for the Twenty-first Century: Acrivism in the Expanded

Field of Quilring 197
J.:.
irsty Robertson

14 Tran forrning }.lalaysian Hand wO\·en Songkct in rhe Contemporary World 211
):me Ngo Sio/.:.J.:.h
eng

15 Cre:1tÍ\'t' Resilience T hinking in Textiles and Fashion 225

,\1arhi/dJ T/1:1111

16 Use Your lllu ion: D3zzle, Deceit and rhe 'Vicious Problcm '
of Textiles :ind Fashion 241
Ort o 1·0 ,: B11sch

PART FOUR: TEXTILES AND T H E CURATORIAL TURN

Editori:il lntr oduction 259
Jan is ) 4/ erir!s

17 Cur:1tini; Extreme Textiles: Designing for Hi h p f 269

. üJ.1 ,i\IeQ ua,'d ~ g er ormance
i \ !at, 1

1S So..::i
_:il _F:ihric: ~extiles. Arr, Society and Politics 279
Clm 5llr.e Chccm5ka and Grant \\1-itson

19 Ym-..1Di:ima: lnno\'ation in Ausrralian lnd ' . 293

:\f · w·e_,t
, .1rgic
igenou s F1bre

20 K:iun;is Bicnnial: Spindling from 1i , .1 C 309

Ed CJ rro!/ exn e u 1tur e to Public Cultur e

Scanned by CamScanner
CONTENTS ix

21 A Vicw from Elscwhere: A Global Stage - Curating Textiles from

the Asia Pacific 319
Ruth McDougall

22 Envisioning Fibre in the Cultural Heritage of Hangzhou, China 335

Shi Hui and Xu Jia

23 The Lausanne lnternational Tapestry Biennials (1962-1995) 349

Giselle Eberhard Cotton

PART FIVE: TEXTILE TECHNOLOGIES ANO THE SENSORIAL TURN

Editorial Introduction 361

Diana Wood Conroy

24 The Fabric of Memory: Towards the Onrology of Contemporar y Textiles 36 7

Sara Diamond

25 Indigo Dyeing in the Land of its Origin: History Unknown 38 7

Smritikumar Sarkar
26 Feeling: Sensing the Affectivity of Emotional Politics througb Textiles 401
Agnieszka Calda
27 Reviving Kapiak: Exploring the Material Identity of Barkcloth in
a Melanesian Society 417
Graeme Were

PART SIX : DEVELOPMENTS IN THE FIELD OF TEXTILES,

CLOTH ANO CULTURE

28 Roundtable Discussions and Concluding Comments 431

Janis Jefferies and Diana Wood Conroy

INDEX 463

Scanned by CamScanner
 CH APTER SIX

Making Known
The Textiles Toolbox-Psychoanalysis of Nine Types of
Textile Thinking

CLAIRE PAJACZKO\ VSKA

Toe aim of rhis chapter is to sho w that an embodied relationship with materials,
characterisric of makin g, ha s the effect of acti varing specific kinds of thinking. This is
somerimes d escrib ed as 'tacit knowledge', 'craft' or 'skill', in which rhe neural pathways
oÍ kinaesthe ric memor y serve as pathwa ys for unc onscious rho ught, fantas y and meaning .
lt is the work of ' pr axis' to authorize and ackn owled ge th is silent, 'tacit ' kn o wledge,
whích can oth erw ise atroph y like sofr logic under th e deformation of rh e more
conventional hard logí c of authored discour se. Proposed here are nine forms of tacit
lrnowledge held within the cultures of textile . The concept of a 'Handbook of Textiles'
connotes an in srrucrion manual for artisanship , craftsmanship and the classification and
di.ssemination o f techniques of making. A handbook suggests that it is a proximate
repo5'ito ry of proximate knowl edge, the hand indicating a metaph oric 'elose to hand' -
edness of bo th kn owled ge and its form of tran smission. This kn ow ledge, it suggests, is
nor somerhing to be sou ght from high pri ests of the academy , nor from the academ y
irself. A manu al - stored, perhaps, within a toolbox or kitchen drawer - rather than
an academíc text held within a scholarl y library or archi ve. The knowledge stored
in a mndb oo k aims to rran smit, by written words but more likely by diagram and
illusrrarion , rhe knowledge rhat is transmitted by apprenticeship in technical coll ege or
workshop, or to children warching adults working ar home . Now widel y transmitted
through home videos uploaded onto YouTube and websites, the knowledge encoded
v.irhin handbooks suggests the losr wisdom of our pre-indu strial ancestors. lt suggests
tha.rsorne connecredness has been lost in the progressively mechanized and digital cultures
of \·irruality: rhe touch, hold , and grasp of social learning, which can be reactivated by
new forms o f enquir y.
Thenew pro jecr iniriared here by Janis Jefferies, Diana Wood Conro y and Hazel Clark
does not repre sent a nostalgia for a quaint past, or a romance with the nobiliry of
craftsmanshi p, but is one that challenges rhe traditional distinctions between the technical
skills of makí ng and rhe intellecrual skills of understanding , knowing. and authoring.
Currenr conv encion s o f cultures of making consrrain the impact that th1s culture might
hring to exisring meth odologies and rhe rheories these support. For example, understanding
th.:t knowledge arrives to the mind rhrough the body will tran sform the way that w_e
da.ssj+ :. .- as , pe dag ogy' . lt will transforrn· rhe way that manual labour 1s
. en,- ;._¡ 1earnmg
'.1 ~-

Scanned by CamScanner
 T I I E I IANl>l',OO K OF 'I FX I fl.f•. <,I Jl'.lf JHJ·.
80

·
d en1grarc e
d ·111post- am.:s1:111· , p ost
. -Co nit•·"
,_,,tl tr··1 litio 11·s' :rnd
· e_ . .wil l rc fr::irnc th .c db c111.c, í<1noí
t l1e mc an mg · o f gcn d en.:l ¡ k 110 wl···•ge
-.u . w11·,1sr · t hc idc ;1lrz;1t1011 . . of ab ~1ract1<J11wni,, . n11tc\
Lévi-Strnuss ( 1978 ), ncccssary to csta hlish scic11cc ª" di c,tir~ct frc,nr ,,~ytlrology 111 thc
Enlightcnmcnt, thcrc is now a nccd to rcco nsidcr tl1c a11tlwrity of th c d,-,c,,1tr'>c, tl_,at d_,,
no t confor m to rati onalist absrrac tion. Th c co nccp t of hody, for cx amplc, ª" tlic :rn11thc.,,.,
of the abstraer, finds currcnt usagc in m;iny ;icco1111t<, of 111aking, 11'>11:tlly _ throii gh thc
philosophical tradition of phcnomcnology, rhc emer ging dat;i from c1iro 'ict~n~e or from 11

evo lmi o nar y bio logy ami p hysical anthropo logy. The sc thcoric :; off cr a m;itcrralM conccpt
o f th c body , which supp o rts rhc psychoa1dytic concep tu alization of thc body a.,
simult anco usly biological and soc ial, ;in 011tc o111c oí thc t wo ev<,lution ;iry pro cc!.~<:.,
dcscrihcd by Darwi n.
Thc bod y, and embodied knowlcdge, h:1s a contradictory pla ce in Western culture
and its eco no mics of globalization . The indu strial rcvolution, in itiatcd by Britain\
te chn o log ical inn ovarion , resulred in thc soc ial !itr atificarion oí work cr'> ac, manual or
'w hit e co llar ', wit h rhc residual raim of dcnigration attaching ro manual lab<Jur and an
idca lizarion of alph abct ic knowledge ancl its tran smission throu gh th e Lo M(JS (word). In a
post-industrial rnlrurc rhc arrisanal, mate rial rnlrures once marg in;ilizcd as lacking thc
authority of symbolic meaning, or thc capacity for ahsrract thinking, are hccoming
reco nsidcrcd as sourccs of knowlcdgc. Thc.: acadcmic co ntcxt associarcd with posr-
indu srrial, post-Strucrnrali st culture also tcnd s ro idcalizc rhc rcacrivation of arti!ianal and
manu al skills as 'art', 'c raft' or 'creativity'. Yct, wirhou t <levaluing or idc.:alizing thc
know\ edge of making, it is possiblc to rcconsidcr the significancc of thc savoir (aire of
mak ing as a contributi on to existing, post-Pos irivist, thcor ics uf know lcdgc. 1nrcgrating
rhc teclme - tcchnique and rechnologies of manufacture by hand and machinc.:-in rclarion
to thc episteme - tcchniques of know ledgc, phi losop hics and rhco rics of kn owledge - rhc
new handb ook invites makcrs and rheori sts to co llahoratc in a new cultur e of 'mak ing
known' , wirh che capac ity to und erstancl th c mcaning and signi ficance of making and thc
ro le of ho lding and handlin g rhar art iculare mine! and matcr ials.
Co nceived as a form uf praxis, che tcxt ile practiccs of fcltin g, spi nnin g, stirching,
knotting /knitting, weaving, plaiting, drap ing, rntting and styling are offered as a rcxtilc
'toolbox· of rechniques of arriculat ing acrivities of cmbodicd knowledgc with forms of
rhinkin g and knowing. Thcse nine typcs of practicc can offe r a way of thin king about che
relarionship bctween knowleclgc as bot h qualitativc and quantifiablc. Thc posr-empiri cal
academic cultur e of Western cducarion !caves a lcgacy of thc idcalization of thc
quanr ifia~)iliry ~f da_ra ~nd :l~e calibration of 'mctho d', ancl this chaptc r might be used as
an cxpc nm ent 111rh111k111 g. 1he classification hcrc is, thcreforc, descr ibed in verbs - traces
of acrion a~d process - ra~her rl~an nou ns or names of artcfacts, object s or craft . The airn
is to quesrion rhc for ms 111wh1ch cultur al and socia l praxis can best be rccorded and
rransmitted.
Hi storians ancl anthr~pologists of texti les have usecl thcir respect ive mcrhodologic:11
sysrems as contcxr.. Rozs1ka Parkcr' . . s (1989) Subversive St,·teI1, fo r cxamp . 1e, 11a, 5 ex¡Jlorcd
che pl:tce of .texttlc crafts ..w1th111thc social '
histo ry f d ¡· . . · 1 · culrurc,
O gen er C.IVI SIO ll S W lt 1111
Anthr opo log1st Susanne Kuchlcr . has unclcrsroo · d tcxr·ile . ¡· .
as a parat 1gmat1c 111 atcn·:1
, 1and :is
o1~e ~f ª. rang~ of _marcr_1als a~alysc<l wit hin mate rial culture (Küchlcr 2 003) . Reccnt
rhmk111 g 111.soc
. ial sctence
. 1nvcsngatcs rhe pl;icc • oí niat , cna· 1 pra xis . as a su ,stratc o f :ibsrract
•
1
conceptua lizmg, . Richard Senncrt
. (2012 ) offcr s
· rl, .
e conc cp t o f 'd . . 1 ·
1a1og 1ca 111 • rcractioll
between m;i~111 ~ a~d know~ng', and -~,m . lngold (Ha llam and lngold 20 14) propo scs ·~o-
re po ndcncc bcmecn makm g and thmk 111g• lt· ·15 p OSSI·¡1 ¡e, W 1l Cll ;ipproac 1111 . 1 qticsnon
1 g t lC

Scanned by CamScanner
t-.l J\KINC: KNO \X1N : TI IE TE XTIi.E S TOCl l.l lOX
81

from tht: ··1k'"·r, ra 1¡1cr t ¡1:m r¡tL' socia

. ¡1nin1 of vicw of t l1c; 111 · 1 sc1·cm1.· t, to re fr:imL' t 11c
cirrnl:mt ~ ht:twc:ci'. cn ihodicd knowlcdgc itll( I soci:il ~trucrurc;. \Vhilc rhcrc is a co mplcx
co-cvoh~tion of _111111 d a11dhody - a11dspccilicall)' h:111d -cyc coo rdi11:1tio11,rool-m:iking
:md social lcarrnn g - thc pcr spcctivcs fro111 thc hinlogr of 111i11d can hest he found in
psychoan:ilysis :rn<l its rhcory of thc 11scs of i11 s1im:t11:1lcnerc ics when inregr:ircd inro
soci:11:111dcultmal acrivitics. '
Laborarory rcscarclt in matcri:11scic11 cc, i11coll:1horario11 wirh industrv and mnnufacrur e,
h:1s gcncrated 11ew direcrio11s for tt:xtilc design rescarch i11w digi;al, hio logic:il :rnd
chemic:il hyhrid s of scicnce :111d:irt. Smart a11dadvanced textilt.:s explorl' thc cnpaciry of
m:Hcrials ro act :1s pro sthctic, ac1iv:11i11 g hu111 :111agenq • :1nd cx1c11di11 g rhe 1111111:111
ego
bcyond i1s biologicnl constr:1i11t s. lt is pos~ihlc to consider rhc concept of :1'rcxri le ego' in
thc way rhar Didier A11zi c11( 1989) co11 sidrn , rhc 'ski11ego'. Thc ego. :1sdetincd hy Freud
and post-Frcudi:111psycho:111:il y!> is, is a co11 ccp1 th:11describes a threshold bcrween bodily
expcriencc, as a produ cr of biology, allll rhc c111h odied knowlt.:dgc rhar is clc ploycd rhrou~h
culture and socicty. Co 111 .:ept11a lizcd :1shmh ., s¡x11ial :111dsrmbo lic proccss. rhc ego :icrs as
the inrerfnce herwcc11hiologicnl i11sti11cts :111dtl1c s11bj ect, i11dividu.tl :rnd social srructurcs.
Thc ego is dcscrihcd as a 'rcprcsc111a1io11al world ' (S:111dl er 1~87), comprising symh o l.
languagc, im:1ge, fom:1sy, fccli11 gs :11a.l1he :irtirnl:uion of rhcsc into rho11 ghts. belicfs,
idcntiry, cxpericnce ami ways of k11owi11g.
Thc Frcucli:111conccpr of cgo includcs 1hc thoughr th;i1 most of irs opcra tion is
unconscious nncl is acccssiblc ro conscious rho11 g h1 only in rctro~pccr, rhrouµh merhods
of intcrpretation and tcchniqucs of sclf-rcílexivit)'.1,vo concepts th:tr :1refumbmem al ro
psychoanalysis and rhar are of inrcrest m rcxrilcs praxis, e11ablin g us to co11sidcr rhcse :1s
fabricarions a11CI cpistcmic pr:1crices, are rhosc of rhc unconscious ami of the t'~0. Alrhough
a 'reprcsenr:itional world', hingcing on :ind arricularing rhc bioloµy of onrogcny :rnd
phylogeny with rhc rc:1lit)' o f rhc symbolic, rhc ego. suggcsrs Frcud. is 'firsr :1nd forcmosr
n body ego'. This nccounrs for rhc way rhat s~mc_bod!ly cxpcr_icn~cs :1re rcpc:1rcdly
symbolized within material culture . The self is olrcn 11na gmed, sub1ccm·dy, as composed
of 'layers' of varying pcrmeabiliry :111dflcxihiliry.Thesc 'defcnces' . ."'l.1ich art' dynamic
forms thar mediare insrincrunl drivcs and social srrucrurcs, are marerrahzcd :1~ funta sy, as
nnrrative and as cmboelied knowlcelge. Whilc cultures rh:1tdo nor makc use of a complex
conccpr of subjccrivity often describe rhc selfas :1n'inr~rioriry', which c:111l~c.more or _Iess
· · ¡,
Separatc d from 1tssocia con e
t xt' , ....
" more 1,sycho:malyric
· conct'pt of sub1 . ecr1,·1ry conccl\·es
.
"l · ·
ti1c ego as n Mo 'Jtus strtp, w 1cre ¡ . ourside
· ami
' in'-idc
· are parr of ;1 conrmuous surtan :, rhc
. . .
·b·1· f M "I ·
ílCXI I lty O · t IlC O )IUS curve 111 · viting thour>hr
· I" s on how marcrral
.
1s used as.
metaphor tor
mm · d, nnd ww m1110 , 1 ·1sconstruc re·elrlirough , rhe hum:m capac1ryro mcct rrs ncl·ds by an
1
embodicd cncounrer with matcrinls. lf · ¡ ·
. . ( 1974) suggestccl rhnr thc se 1s a prot 111. :r ot a
Psychoanalyst D. W W111111 cort · . .. . J ¡
• 1 ice from a prnn:1rv, 111 :unm:111:111 m·pl·nc l' lll:\' m
transirional d
' an ranr sformarrona
• emerger
. . . . · · , ior rcbrcdn css ,s ar rlw (t·nrrc· of
· .
an · d. · ¡ ¡· el el ·ncy 111whrch t 11c capant)
, 111ivr<.uatec mtcr epen e ' , ., . .· , for conccrn·, or cmparlw. is the
ti . d .c. . . f 1 . ·lf Alt ·ritv and thc t ,1paut) . . . . .
le cnn1t1on o t 1e se . e ·, .
1 · 1 which ,._nn111fcsrrdIII rl1l·her
i11d' 1 11 1. 1 . 1 I ' f mammalran evo urrot . • , . , •
1sso u ) e, )10 og1ca cgacy O • . ¡· • · of .1 housc is nor ro Clffcr prorcction
,
0 hserve elby Mary Douglas , t 1rnr tic~
¡ , rtf\l '\í)' llll(tl()ll •
.• .. · (Oougbs 1966). This c.1p:Kir,·far
f h I ff. h sp1ralrry ro ot 1icrs ~ . . .
ron, t e e cmcnrs hut ro o cr O , t .1 in-ikcr ¡11makmg :lll 0b¡ccr, arrda cr
· · . . . b .· f rhc waY r11•1 • • ' . '.
Pntnary 1dent1ficat1on1sthc asis or f · d aking socit'rv.Tlns 1s rhe phcrwml'n n
· · . 1
or repa1r, 1ssnnulraneous y ma 1ng
k· , rhe sel ·
, an rn, ' · . ·
. .·. 1 climcnsion ot cr:1hsm:1nslnp. wh1ch
. .
rllat R.tehar d Scnnett dcscri.b es as. thc proro : . -soc1.1 . whcn ir is carned . out 111 . 1so
. 1attt"'l . l
. .
rncans t hat makmg 1s always a soll, •
. .· al acrrv1tv, cvc11
·

Scanned by CamScanner
 llff ti -..:p¡:\' )1\ ,,1 11 \ 1111 l lll ll Hl

)) TI l . 1 . ,.:T · ' i, ~ ,.. tt\ ' ·nh ..·,i 11\ th(' llll u' ll'\ ' hl\\\ \"l'd 1
( C'llllCrt200 . \C re .lilOll.l !H t' ,Htl ;:- \ J - .
1
f• ' \
. .. "'' 11 ·fr · . ,,r ¡;¡ •,111m: •
:1 bo J ,. memor'" .1nd .is J r.1m:e < ! • <'" ' ... ·' '- · · '
. h l . \t · Gl ~ . ( ¡ 0--> ) r~ " · 1 1.. "\•lh . Tt h\' t-.· 1111úl \. ·1•i-· '-"'- 111¡ ·11.'\• 11• 1

s,·c
P ··1: o.ml v~t . en m .;:,-
,t'r ·' t ' · • •
. · f h ¡ t • -·I ·11·· 1·,1 hw l•,' t \\ ,·(1 ,di .u d 11, ,,l,1úl " ''"
d e ·en )e rhe d,·n:1n11co r r~,-: " .1·::-
1, .• n: • ·'' r 111
• . J" . ,·1·1 l"'n·· ·n 1" t l ·· tli · ,, -:hi-.-1 \C't,1h,lr·,\(t1'1l l'I ,\ l' l'l ' \\ I\ "
r 11e e:1r1Y yc3r. ot pre- t' IP·.l 1 . , ..... 1 · :- · ·
. . · .· . ·. J , . , , •r ,¡ ·¡ ,--,·1 ,,,,,11, th · 11 11111 .11, 11'1 11 1,
in nn( iS mto mc,·h.1nisms ol t..~<' t' . 1.'lk ~ ,, , ,"\. th ' · ' · · · 1,11
1
3S OllC oi c:1lihr.1tingsrJ ·c. J j~~.il ,.-C. í:",' '\ ltHI{~ .mJ '- ' i\[f\ll. lln , llHl,'! '''' ·hi, id .1_t11•11 \ l
e:1rly in fan(y is pbyt.'d úllt .mJ n·.t-..i, .;te' \\·Hh ' \ t ..·rn.d , •l·t ·t ' · ~11...·lt .1, 111 l d.1tn111, 11!
m:iking :1nd orhcr iorms oi ..:rc.iti,·in.
For- ~ kl.rnic Klcin {1930) ,h, n r... 1i1J ., ~~ mh1 li..- ''111".1kth.'\ ' l•,t " ,·'-·11itll\'t 11 ,tl
111
objecr and irs signiñcr is .1 lll't'd tú ::u · · rT .,r.nt,'!l f~,r .m , 1--·t1(~ ,,1 ,k , 1 ·w,,i. l'lh· tir , 1
rebtion toan ohjt>ctis s.o 111ú1, ,j " nh, ¡._,.,•m .,r¡- ·:-m::-.H ,i 1.un.1, 1,, th,H tlw ,dt ¡' 1\'i r(h
and deiends :l!!:l ÍllS t te .U oi Jlllahtl.Hh'l h m ..'.11~ 1..'t11\.\ \1\,:-'.,·,¡ut\ ,\kl\l 1•hr,·1,. rl1(
1
:1ggression tha; is .H rhc r, r oi ,,.:.ttl\ 1c. ·1t1 th;..'nu lllf \ 1 t .1rt. · 1.i.·l , 1, ..d,\ 11l1h·,I t,,
:inthropologi st Alircd Gell (19<l,') . n, ..\1,.,1· ,h. ' d1.1t ,~ ch...• ll\ .111\' \ ' flllf ,,t 111 ,· 11111,•l, 1~:1 PI
th e :1rrd:1ct :ind rhc pr.1:xi~ oi 1:u. mf 1~ ,,t,~n ,,,,·rl,1,11.. ·J ,•r 11q:I ·t1..·'-I
1
111 t.1n• ur 1 t

urilit ~ui:111,romanric or idc.1li1.1n~ .:t n,·..:1,u.tl,~.Hh'm , 1 t d ... . 1;uh ·1.

Gbsser .rnd Klcin wt1rkd " uh ,:itfr,~m th 1 n, ·:- t,t 1111n-l .. 1111 l" r--·'-·1.dh d1tln,11t
rheories of instinct . For Gl.l~er iht· ·dh kp ,·.tl ,, ,n.... · -r:,,t ..1~· \: "" ' ' , •• md ~-1d1,tr- · 111,1111,·t,
has :1 prim:icy in ego dc, ·dopm~m . wlwr\'.,:- r,1:- ~ k in ch· '- '1\1. TI ,,1 .1 d '. lt h 111,111Kt 1,
significmt. Howcn :r. the two rsy.:h, .'.H.ti~-,~ h.\, ~ in -:<1 m1111>11 th · u11,k , t,111 d1111: th.1t .tll
ego strucnirc is dew loped throu~h th füt' \, : 1~ h~c \,t,¡, ,.:t r.... ·l.m,•11,!11¡- . .1111.I,h.u 1h1,,n~
:1 templ:nc for rhe qu.1lirics oi ch rcrl" s··n::m'-1 n.i.l " ,,d ,i. ,•r ·1111 rn.d , 11,J,- ·t · . •111 '11rnn
wo rld' th:it cominues to .,.:ti,·.,n.· m ·.minf dm.nifh'-'m l.1t ·r lit,·. F m , t 1--11, ( I " .' · ) w ntr ,
rh:1t the nukcr·s .1rr rc4uirc:- iht -:: •r 'in.,:i, n ,,r h.mJ .H J ,,._.. , 111rd.n1v1 1 1,, .111ntn11 ,1I
objccr, such 3.S m.1tcri.1l.rt'...:hn iqu-:-<..r.,im. whil:-c th,• -.·.1th · , 1~. m 1h · 1111\· 1•11,,1\1 11, . 1, '"
rhc imago oi rhc rcprc:-..,t.."<l mt.'m ~ '-)t tl ,.-·, tri ,·n ....• '-'t k:1m :. w1th dw 1rn 1 tl1 ·r.
Marion ~ 1ilner \\,ite:- l)t tht' 1~u.-a ·:-• ·m ,>-Ji:--. i \.'11- .-...,tmr-- --·r ~, ith m.lt ·n.tl , · ,,, ., 11H·,li111n
th:1t en ables rhc self re, ,'Xpt 'ri ·n-:- e che init'r t·.,,-;.·h:rw, ·n '-"I.Hl:- ,: 1 1u::.m...l\lfü '\ , 11:-·11•11~ 111111d
(Milner 1950 ,20 10). Psycho.Hul~~n- .a ....i.mdm'r ,t'-f i:-Q-\ frrn mt -r¡' ·t ,ll t •1.1·t:- .1, 1l
rhey werc :1drc.1m-likc srrucmr,' ,,,·:-~·mí-, !¡..._ - ¡'t'\'.t ll.:,i,•n. Th · ·111.,wkdt·-::- ,¡ m.11-.111\:~-.111.
rherdore. l e un :l\·.1il..bk ro m.,:t·n: th •¡u:,. ·h·,~- ,H\\..1 chi:: :-·m · 1t h.-,1~~: .it tl1 1• lll , ; -~· 1•\
sponrancou s :1hiliryor rt·:;pün:-' i~ t,fr-·n "-'l--"-·tt,I .,~ n:rn·~·ntmi: th . .:n,~t.lt ,h · ll\ ·t ·¡
of :1 mu se, _orthe -h:rnun ..3~'-'\ 11...~1~ it i~,r~kiti(· :-,Hh .i :-n~',:.'rn .mir .il p ~" . :. r¡ 11:-, 1it 11n.1Hlit\·
ro non- rat1on_:1I.!-p_onr.rn~1us .il 1liry ,~ n ,( dt, ~.m~ ,hinf .,~ h.·, n~ -~i~t.mt t\• 1r.u,~l.1ti1•ll.
Thc pr :1Ct1C1..' ot shm,,ni¡• lww ·n w -.:.-,:- 0i ¡ 1,,• · ·itt ~•· 1·:-- .\"Cl .,e·,
, ,·ul ¡ t ¡1t ,r , ·
·,'lll' ¡1 ~¡
, t,.,,h·
:rnd sro rcd in .
cml o iic.d•. 11ll'.1h n • ·. 1..'.m, •
ff ·r ", mu 1 '--·'r,' •1 ti·'-·\ ,· 1.¡·l ..\..,, h'I\~ t11t'~'\ 1lll..: ,. 'I' 1\l .1¡1·,, 1,'h
rh
. c v:1lue• of culmrc. • \'\ h 'n n .tkll\~
, • 1:; m1.k~~,1,, ' " 1' ,, n.-
1 • .,
, - . • t
'' ' r 1 1l- lt ','\. '\'ti\ ·~ · \Ir l l\,\( t l\ \' ,~1
l '
111dusm:1l
. cconom1es . • m.Hm , .,I I.H' mr lu -..:' , cr1 ,ut+~ '" 1 • •'•1lü. 1 •l' t\Cr, \ ¡·1-.'I\.\\ ·,· ::t.\tll~. ,11\l¡ ,,' ¡,·
cndcnt . t h:1r .:rnx1c11~ . .11 ut : l\\,wl !--,, ~ ch.1·' ¡,· .,, ''- 11 l't"\:\H\Ut' t\) th · · l1\'~ I, . ,\l. •1t' ,,
1
acnv.ucd. . .Th1s. . n.,cty ,·xun
.11 • ~ h ' .1 '- 'll' ·mi\•n .,·I J'1:-. ¡.\1\\ · 11 .:.,r .W\>I\\ , 11., w,,rr: ,. , .111,t •1
rc:1cnve <l1sntll.:no ·
11 m.llk
·
.. 11 th,.- .,.:.i...i....
· 1 \\ '
•• '
t, 't \\ . k
ll ':\.r,'n ,·m ,wl ·dl·,· l)t (ttltlll
' ' •
111,I

cultur e ~,s S(lC1~1! k .mnn~ . :\ r~,

·-·h
• .., ·1h· ti~· m i··' ·'"..ll\ J'm,..:\>t . th 'lll h'l'll~'- ·· ·i,,m ~11h,1 1,l
• ·. · , . · - ¡. · r.1t\'
111 :111..n.111~:1~.1rfün .m.."-i , · thmn ~h d , ,, ,
1· · · ,,~,, , l . t .
' \\ " · t \.\t thr l•,11.hl"1, 11"' ,,11 ,1.11•11 • . : di'
coc1e. d.. :1s m:1rern.11• .Hl<1 1t·m 'fü .tr,\, ,~ wh' ·· ., '..t., , .· ·I ~tt . .u,·ttm.', th ¡ • ·11 · ,,¡· . ,•-..· ·,-¡,11- . ,,t
1
p:imltnc.11 dcsü' m •Qcna .\i\' ,11 , t ·i ,n , . 1 ••
. .• '- '- ,,h ..._.t fün1.1 st l.'t ch, h ' l . 1 1 \ · ' . ' ·' \: t '-' ~ 1 ' '-
. ,-111 ,, t
l .. ' \ ~ - ~ • ~ .,rl\..1..\• t
11 111
111:1rrilinc.1l, rd.1timul. 1m.,ml1t,rx' ,t .Hhi d . tth. , l···
n. m u11t h .' n •• l) l . • • -l ·l 111n,t '
~
• .J , • .... '
mholtc:1l h· t:m1co 1:w l't'lll~ h\)n, ·h• . ' ·· . ' lll. ,\\\11~ •• " 111. \ ·
Y , . . ~ , m ,t. r t ~ tl.Hn, 1..,t th , f.1th ·r.

sd
Scanned by CamScanner
MAKIN<: KNOWN : '11IE TEX'J11.ES ·1OOLIIOX ID

Thc pra. , 1i.

cc of111 .
a ki11gtcxtilcs h 0 1us, ·1 ten , <l
s anu.1 carne• s somethin g of the und1•sc1plt11
· •
cct,
hcG111, c 1t. 1,; 11111lt1 - ami
. intcr -J 1·sc1p
·. · 1mary,
· ami alsu sometl11n . g of the d:rngerou sly
coll:1borat1ve
. ami
.. . rclat1 011 al
. . ., ' an<l · · J . ·f 1· ·
1s, t 1cre ore, l 1sdamed as 1llcg1t1m · · · atc, as exccss1v · cly
111 . 1.tan a11. l 111
:.ttcrtal and 1111l ·s Han<ll,uo· k mvrtcs · · 11s to 1·0 ·m m · an mvesttgatton
· · · o f t JtC way
1h::1tthe 111 a1en. :1I 1s substr
· ·atc to mcamng. · . J10w, for example, a thr ead 1·s ma<le hy sp111ntn · · g
fihre
. ' extrud111
.
1• pulymer
r, , o r p 11·
11 111 J J h
g meta , am ow thr ead 1s l111 · · e as a movcmenr,
artH:1tlat11ll'
.0
hotlt con crete n1c>v•·111 "
' t amf a\1stract
en , conceptua 1space, h·k·e a 1·me o f 111
· k• on
papcr wludi hecomcs a logos or wor<l, the hasis of Law. The psychoanalytic perspective
shows how tli~ thr ~ad of attachmcnt becomcs a body ego (Freud J 923/196 4), a thr eshold
bctwccn I he IHolog1cal an<lsocial, a second skin (llick 1968), a rnembrane of simultancou.
connection and division.

THE TEXTILES TOOLBOX

Thc toolbox contains nine types of activity. These are not too ls as objects or nouns, hut
processcs of thc hody throu gh which we can think ; J escribed as verbs. What follows are
reflections throu gh the praxi s of fclting, spinning, stitching, knotting/knitting, weaving,
plaiting, dr aping, cuttin g ami styling. These ninc types of practice are offered as ~l series
of cxperimcnt s in thc transformation of thinking through nouns, words and ohjects,
1hro11 gh thc invitation to think thro11ghactivitics ami rclationships. lt is an advantage if
tite readcr i!>ablc to Jo thc action by hand in parallcl with thinking through the reading.
Noting thc as~ociation s, mcmorics and thoughts produced by making expand s the
mcaning of thc actiun, and , as Freud noted, civilization and culture must he inventcd and
rcdiscovered ancw in each individual. Each textile praxis is explorcd in rebti on to the
practicc-lcJ research und crtakcn by thc postgraduate Textiles research group at thc Royal
Collcgc of Art, London.
As global warming melts the pcrmafrost that has prescrved the material culture of the
la-.t Ice Agc, earliest textiles are revealed to be J ensely felted fibres of animal pelt, strongly
pigmentcd in green and red. Bccause the organic matcrials of textile, and their pigmentation,
rapidly J ccomposc in natur al conditions, worn on the body as clothcs or used in tools or
construction the material evidcncc of thc early history of textiles is largely ahsent from
archives, and' thcr efore absent from scholarship. The structuring ahsence of textile from
both record anJ thcory has rcsultcd in an ovcrestimation of thc significancc of harJ matcrials
such a,;meta Is, ccramics anJ stcme, which do not atrophy and are abundant in archaeological
sitcs. Thc qucstion of how thc soft logics within thc human sciences.fare alongside the han !
data ~ought hy empírica! scienccs is raised: Remember h~w surpn.sed we were when. ~he
fo~sil J ata first suggestcd that Jino saurs were not covcred m a khak1-grey leathery rept1ltan
hidc hut wcrc fluffy and fcathcrcd, with brightly coloured plumage?

Felting
·
Fe 1ttng h 11 striat ed abrasive, scaled or oth erwisc textur ed surfaces of
uses t e natura Y ,
. 11 ·mal fibre to form a structure of entanglement. Further
vegetahle b ut especia y an1 , , .
· 1 ' d · h h · 1 . r hody Jiquids such as sweat and urme, to ahrade the fibre
man1pu ate w1t e em1ca o '
·gmentation the natural structure s of entanglemcnt are
sur faces anJ act as mo rd ant fO r Pl ' . · f ··
. d b t supple matting. Arttsanal display o trad1t1onal hand-
fllrt I1er en folded tnto a ense u . . .
. . f the texrile cultur e of central Asta and Anatolia. W1th
d
ma e fe. 1t techn1ques 1sb'pare O · · o f ahsorbency, fe¡t 1·s today
I' h U"h use and w1th .
qua1tttes
Properuc s of co nforma 1 1ty t ro r:, '

Scanned by CamScanner
 TH E HANDB OO K OF TD,TIL E CULll.JJu:

11scd as :1 S)'lllpatlictic rnatcrial. Curr cnt practicc in felting by textil e researcher Carmen
11ijos:1 uses libres cxtracrcd from thc !caves that are the wasre pro ducr of pineapple
pn >duc1io11to rn:tkc a ncw form of felted material inspired by rhe 'C rndle ro Cradle'~
dcsign fr:i111ework (Br:111n gart and Mc Donough 2008). Agriculrur e is rhe main source of
c111pl c111in d1c l'hilippincs, and the aim is to find a merhod rhar can be used for
or 111
i11dus1ri:d 111
:11111fa
c1urc in this contcxt using 0 111)' susrainable marerials, asa n integral pan
of the pw jccr to dcvclop a forrn of production rhat meers rhe needs o f rhe comemporary
ll'XIilcs i11dus1ry wliils1gc11 c r:ui ng a socially and crhically susrainable source of emplormenr
in tite Phifippi11es ami clsewhere. Thc felted pi,-ia film: can be used as :111 alrernarire ro
lc:ithcr in Ihe 111 :11111
fnclure uf shoes, upholstery materia Is and fashion accessories. The use
oí a11a11cic11t 111cthod 10 cuunteracr thc effccrs of global warming carries symbolic meaning
in hutl1 thc rcsean:h 0 11CIthc rnaking aspccts of rhc 'Ananas Anam' projecr (Hijosa n.d.).

Spi,111i11
g
~cco11dis thc practicc uf spi11ni11 g ancl twisting bot h natur al :md arti ficial fibres ro make
th rcnJ , yarn or s1ri11 g. Thc ctymology of thc word 'thread ' is found in rhc root word 'ro
tl1rnw· . :111 d thi~ s11 ggcs1·s die projccrile ami active agcncy which und erlies ali arris:rn:tl
:ll'Iivity. 'Ohjccl ·. i.\ , ~i111 ilarly. clcrivcd frorn the conccpt of a projectile exrernalizarion of
1-0111 c1hi11 ~. Thc proximate í:t111 iliar is rendercd distant ancfexterna!. Srring is kn own ro bt'
onc oí rl1c fir~t 1111111 :111artcf:icts. Rccent archacological finds dating from 70,000 re:m :igo
i11 d 11dc ,1rtcf:1c1, rhat appcar to havc hcen accompanicd br somc rit11a l form of mourning.
in ·l11di11 g a \l'fic, oí , 111 all ccramic hc;ids, bearing traces of applied red ochrc pigment.
:1rr:111 ¡H·d .,ereM ,1,k ull\ forehcad. Thcse red p;iinred hcads musr, arc hacologisrs spcc11l :1re.
'1:rvc hrc rr ~tn111 ¡: <Hrt n :1thread :111Jticd acru~s thc forchcad as a form of tiara or headdress.
1\c cc, , ,m c•,, Í~ir f10111bcing pcriplrcral or insignificant, are amongst th e earliesr of hun~:tn
:1rrcfocr•,.,\¡:a111 . thc c,11H: cp1 oí thc 'stn1<.:1 11ri11 g abscnce' is su crucial ro :m undersr:1nd1n !!
11(
,
tlw rc ntrality .
oí tcxtilc
. . • • .
tl1i11ki1w r,
lo tire ¡11 ·story
"
f · ·¡· ·
O C!VI IZ:ltl 0 11 l :1 1
ti r ·r becomes. ,.
111t <"rrr11 11c11tly, 111 vl\1hlc. lcxt.1~ c> likc rlrc thread of thc umbilicus rhar supporrs foer:11lrk,
:1rc 111 :rdc to •
ht . n111wor .
11. J Iris .~uggcsrs ¡ . ti ff ·
. • 1 1' 11 I C a ect1vc ;\ ll ( re 1:lt!Olla
I · ¡ 'rlir•·:td
~· of .
,111 .11
.:hrrwnt , wh1cl1 111 phylogcnc~i~ . ·· rcpl:iced
· ti .
1c primate graspmg re e, , · . íl x -
1 nd 1..n
p11togc1w,,1 , replacc\ th<" 11111l nlH .:1 ~
1 with a 'nced f ·¡· . . • f c111p :1 rh 1'
. • . . . • ac, ltallng e11v1ronmcnr o ,
prrrn.irr l l r 111rf1 1 ca11011," , rr11 rlarly Olllwom 1 . . . . I e in rh~
n 11 rc111 a111 s as vcst1g1a trae
111t1:1111 ,r 11111 , .. 111 d , ll(ltrld 11 111he 0111ittc d fr0111ti . ¡ f · 1
• • ie t ieory o mate ria s. .
1
1li rr ,H. 111 .1de by IWl\[111 g fthrc, , or filaments si, .1 . ·'lk I . conrin11 011 ~
· ( . • · · e 1 ;is sr , pu r mcr, mto a •
,,11r11¡:.i , wn 1e 1y •i1111< 1111all nít11 \·e c11h11rcs u~ ·d f 1. 1· 1 ·¡ . . I ·.11
H O n1ort
, · c or >IIH 111g ,u1 dmg materia ~ .
111h 11,1 (11rn1, u ( ro111 ,1111n . L111din h.ibitat'10 . f ¡ nrrnf·
, 1 ( ,. . • 11 , tr;insport ·111d·1s roo ls or 111 • 11
,1wrc11 1111 ' r , ,1rr11111 g. 1,h111g.rooki11 v pre~crv·11 t' I ' ' ' . J c1·. l·ir (C,t:
1,,,, ,... ~(lrl rlrr .,001 ) f' ,. · 0 11 , cxc 1a11 ge, 1r:1dc ano 1~p · .. rn
. ' 1 1 1 1 .. . . or 't ime conternporary Soutlr African ¡1coplcs a srrit1f " 111 .
,11111111, t 1r ,, ,e 11111 r 11 1~ tl1t · 011ly forrn o f el0 ti · . J. . . ' .11 1: r 1'
llll f: an 1nd1v1d11at cd bodil )' ador11nic
111 ,ul ·, " ( u rl1111 ,· l!\r lí. Spi1111i nr rhrc;rd fr0111 . · · . f ¡ in~·.,~
.111 i·.,r 1r (,,r r11 " ( re rrlt pr H:ti . . .. 1
• • a111111 ;il hair
• en ·
icrgcs, · ,l, 1o ng, w tt 1I e 1 irttl
, {e, t:,1c , us111grhe lr·n l' 1T . it s,,·c:11.
,,., ,,.,tJII'(', :-1', wr ll ;1', lllOYCll1Clll ;1, 'I JYlrt ( 1 1. . • 1( s a )( tty to tran~11l. 11
r1ilY·
• • • 11 t re >1ntl11 w < 1f f'I I fil ·s 11110 ·1
J !11n¡;.H1,111 fl'>d 11 ,.1,,.dyq finre ¡ 1. , . r, ' :tlll<. 'nts :me 1 ,re. . · ,d .1
cm, .,,.,, (Klan1cla 2c,·12) (( t ,drr~ ·"
rf11 ·•,, r 11( ·111fi,11 1,r d rn,·,m,111, :1<u r f' . ,. Y o crs case s 1 .-~rirt!'.·
· ' e 1ng fo wl11d , ti, , 1 . .·., I 1 • '- nf P' '·
\,, 1111:111 i: .11,d 11~frft•11111 1: .,rr <1« ·.irly <· ,· I · e P 1ys1c,1, m:11111 :1 ad . .,, 1,,11
, ,u rn ccd ,~ mar . . 1 f . . n¡!!!rt.
,Hlil •,.u f1\111f itr ('\' I ,J11t 1111)o( t fir I f II ' ' <:r,;i I r :l CCS O 111 1(.'
0n SrtPll~' I !l¡j ;t.
l ) JlO\ ,I ) f• t '111 1111 1 ' j f t he i ;l f
,,11• 111 ,,f , ,mrrol .1111 dS:c,,c\' wirl, \() t' co111m11 c< :1 histor y n . 11 ,1Jl1
• r n 1r C'tthc · ( ·
' ' " <> lllMi11 c 1~ of sclí-prcscrv,:in P

Scanned by CamScanner
 MAKINGKNOWN: THE TD,.'TILESTOOLBOX 85

m:istery. Soci:il
. . learning ' which is e u lt ure, mvo
· 1ves usmg
· the hands m· a gesture m · w h'1ch
rhe amphficat1on of the grasping
. re flex, b ecomes a h yperbole of control. The use of t h e
han~ s to _exert P_ressure m order to exercise mastery through the deformation or
mampul~tton of mnate . mate~ial properties to bestow utility on the maker carries
connotattons of the mampulatton and the cleverness calculation or craftiness attributed
to manual dexterity. Th~ iconography of the spinste:, or woman alone, is emblematic of
the depth of an uncon sc1ous, ritual ambivalence .
. Th~ lin~ is, in abstraer, a materializacion of the dot , or point, in movement. The
d1_rec_nonahtyof_the line is created when materialized in fibre, filament or yarn. The
w1~kmg ~ropemes of textile are important, filament acting as a direccional conduit of
flmd, or, m metals and polymers, of electricity. The characteristic of absorbency is a source
of extreme cultural ambivalence: regard ed as highly dangerous as a repository of the
unclean and forensicall y dangerous stain , it is equall y highl y prized in textiles as clothing,
far cleaning and band::iging, and as hou sehold and s:icramental cloth. This absorbency is
the quality that most visibl y demon straces the principie of disrespect for boundaries.
Representing a kind of stigmata that reiterares the porous quality of the skin envelope
itself, the textile is a porous threshold that is more liminal than absolure boundary.
Researcher Myrto Kar:mika experiments wirh severa) aspects of thread and line,
integrating the electroconductivity of wire and the textile properties of thread, stitch and
felt. Karanika , "ho trained as an archirect, deplo ys the sparial properties of architecture
with the material culture of textiles in her use of thread and filament to make an interactive
textile that actively externalizes and adapts che cross-modal neural capacity of the human
brain and central nervous system. By stirching copper wire filament into a grid system,
through the striated srructure of an industrially manufactured carpet underlay, Karanika
connects the grid to an Arduino digital system thar translates kinetic pre ssure into an
acoustic signal. The grid substrate has a hand-stitched, texrured overlay surface of brightly
coloured, patterned, figured and embroidered felt. The rug's surface attracts visual and
tactile attention, and invites interaction as people kneel to look more closely and to walk,
sir or play on the carpet, where they find that their movements are related to a sonic
envelope with a musical qu a lity. The immersive quality of the experience is created
through chis externalization of the brain 's intrinsic capacity for interconnecting kinetic,
proprioceptive, ractile, optical sensor y processing (Karanika 2014 ). In this work the
researcher considers the affinities between textile threads and the neural networks of the
synaptic rransmission of the biochemical substrate of human energy, action and meaning.

Stitching
Third, the process of stitching. Spun thread - silk, wool, cotton - is, along wi~h pie~cing, the
elementary structure of stitch. Emma Shercliff (2014) explo~es the symbohc eqmvalences
be..•,veen sntc· h an d arncu · lati'ons as an epistemic and techmcal process
. of hand-making '
wo r k'mg w1t · h a senes
· o f grou ps of h:rnd-stitch communities. Sherchff. shows
. how .the process
of wor k mg. m · a group to sntc· h or sew rakes on meaning of the art1culat1on . of .social relations
wich· h h
m t e group, t e re anon
¡ · of che group to wider society. and
.
the aruculanon of different
· h'
aspects o f t h e su b'¡ect, especia· 11
}
, berween silent and exphc1t expenence, w 1ch engenders
. .
. 1
an 1cu Th h concludes that craft pracnce can ev1dence forms of
ate cu 1tute. e researc . .
re) · 1· h f b t from other social SCtenceresearch methods.
attona 1ty r at :ire o ten a sen . . f I d · ·
Th ·d f . h h fi t founding and ongmary act o cu turc , as ep1cted m the
e I ea o stttc as t e rs , ·· f · · d b ' d'
H b . . . · thic S}'mbol. The repennon o p1ercmg an m mg,
e rew B1ble, 1s an mterestmg my

Scanned by CamScanner
 THE HANDl3OOK OF T EXT ILE CULTURE
86
.. h fig leaves or nature, is the destructive and
. d uninng t e ' . .
simulrnncously desrroymg an 1 sts undersrand as the on gms of symbolisrn
. d . ·s rhat psyc1wana y . f h .
rcparanve ynam1cproces fi al artefact a covenn g or r e man's pen1·5
·111 11e rst cuItur ' ·
The act transforms nature .to t f k. d of data method and theory best used for
· r ons o t I1e m '
This mytho1ogy ra1sesques 1 'cloth' is etymologically, derived from 'cling', which
textile practice research. The word . . ' d that as Sigmund Freud (1910/1957)
. d . f ' 1 e' the annrhenca1wor '
m rurn enves rom e eav ' . ¡ · O f unconscious rhoughr: 'to cleav '
noted is an indication of the conrradicrory ogic e
' . Id
1y to 110 a ªf st 1,el to split asunder.
means s111rnlraneous fl · loopmg . or. d ou bl.111gback, w ¡,·1ch 1·s so
Ir is surprising how rhe process Of re cxive ' II ¡· h .
horical as we as itera 1, mee antsm of
integral ro the sritch process, ecomes ª meta
b P ' b k d
reflexivity. When a progress1v · e movement forward includes a ac war s movement
wirhin ir, rhere is a space and time of reflexive thought.

Knotting/Knitting
Fourth is knotting and knitting string, fibre, yarn and thread , as a form of fastening, and
in knotting, crochet and laccmaking as a means of growing and making pliable,
conformable, sofr lighrweighr surfaces. Fasrening, making fasr, is both to accelerare and
to remove ali movemenr, ro render immobile and static. In the knot the yarn is doubly
twisted, thereby carrying inreresting symbolic connotation. Thc loop, required for the
knot to be made, has affinirieswith stitch: the movement of thread as a material equivalenr
of a direccional line, transformed backwards in a movement of reflexiviry, carries the
meaning of rerracing embodied acrion through memory. Depicrcd in myrh as Ariadne's
gift of a ball of spun yarn ro the Minoraur-slaying Theseus as a means to recread his path
within the labyrinth, rhe meaning of rhe thread's direcrional linearity as a material
equivalenr of the neural synapric parhway of memory trace is found in rhe etymology of
rhe English word 'clue', as in 'meaningful sign', which is derived from 'clew' , meaning
rhrea~ and, by. a~so~ia~ ion, clour and clotl1. The use of rewinding as a metaphor for
retracmg an act1v1t y 111d1cares the liminal power of texrile as a medium which enables rhe
rransirion berween a~r~viry a~d passivity,objecrivity and subjectivity, selfhood and alteriry.
The rhr.ead 1s an act1v1r ~ ': h1ch, becoming reflexively transformed into doub ling back, a
rerurn,. 1s a form
. of rega111111g a. lose origin as a prec ursor to memory as an active · ¡y passive
reflecnon.
. Th1s may be seen 111 the symboli'c Ltse o f knots used 111 · t ¡1e 5out h Amer1·ca n
qu,pus, the learher thongs knotted in order to h 1
. . . I ¡·
e p orators recite t 1e meage o tn ' f ·bal
descenr, fil1anon and myth. Ir is also used as f f · k ·
TI d I fk . . ' ª orm o account111gand debt rec 0111n g.
,e eve opment o ' J10tt111g mto functional nets and d . h k uch as
lace and crochet leads ro th b ¡· . . ' ecoranve mes wor s
e sym o 1c s1gn1ficance O f ·¡ ¡ · · allv
pliable and conformable off · ff d text1e materia 1as e 1aractensnc ·
. . . , enng a or anees and t O J f . 1 d more
ng1d, matenals. Knitting is prob bl h b erances not ound 111 ,ar er, .
capacity for growth. Knitting gr~ y bt e eSc :xample of this form of text ile, wirh ird s
. . ws Y repeatmg · 1 · c1· an
nv1srmg or knorring thereby transf . ª stmp e manoeuvre of win 1ng
' ormmg t 11e staf c1· · · rhe
rransformational material trace of f Ic pre tcament of repetitton inro
. .. .
ren dered mv1s1ble 111daily use f
manu acture WI11
. ·
·1e t h e proc ess of stttc. h · 0 fren
1s
.. bl , or example 111 . . the
v1s1 e surface of knitted mate · I A . . seammg, the proc ess of making 15
. e n a . n 1nd1g I ti)'
un known ro nanve Chinese Asia( Af. enou s Y Nordic cultural skill apparen
. r1, e UK, wir
111 .h '
the maririme e I
icor ncan cult 1 '
ures, t 1e technique is nota bly associat '
. ed
Synonymous Wlt· 1igarment and urure so · I
fJer se d
Y an Guernsey and the Scottish 1s an ·
·¡ ds
material no longer associated ma~ehnafi, wool, cotton or silk ¡·ersey is a soft and pliable
wn sher , . a
men s swearers. When develope d into

Scanned by CamScanner
 1\t,.;ING KNOWN: TI IE TEXTIL.ESTOOL.BOX
t--1 87

111cch.rni ze d syst em for the indu strial manufacture of fabric for underwcar and medical
textile s, it was ~avoured by the Rational Clothing movement and by enterprises such as
thc J;,cgcr _d'.Jtlung cc'.mpany: jersey was, famously, adopted by Coco Chanelas a modern,
proto-frnum ~t material for uniting the lightness and pliability required for freedom of
mo ~c1~1ent \~tth t~ie soft~1ess and 'feel' desirable for garments worn next to the skin .
Kmtter hnldie Robms complete<l research for the Arts and Humanities Research
Council using new te chnologie s uf digitally programmed industrial machinery for knitting
se::111_1less,thr~e- _dimensional structures. Using techniques known as 'perfect' or 'fully
1
fashtone<l kmttmg, the machines allow designs to be made without seaming. Robins has
continue<l her work of investigating an<l questioning the cultural iconography of knit as
Jomestic and feminine. The experiments with industrial mechanization produced a series
of human forms, in a rang e of 'sizes' from a<lult to infant: when exhibited in a range of
contexts, the se works invited discussion of the dialectic between the inhumanity of the
perf ection in machine-made form and the significance of the traces of hand knitting in
the 'feel' of a material.

Weaving
Fifth, weaving, as a process and as structure, is the cleare st material example of the
abstraer system that the lingui st and semiorician Ferdinand de Saussure de scribed as the
universal co-existence of two axes uf symbolic arder (Saussure 1910-1911/2011 ).
lmagined as vertical ancl horizontal axes of abstraer o r<ler of sound differences that
comprise speech, the syntagmatic and paradigmatic axes of linguistic textuality and of
me::ming are also thought to be the fundamental structures of the uncon sciou s ego
(Kristeva 1980). The vertical warp and horizontal weft m::mix of the loom is what allows,
in weave, the linearity of thread to become the planar surface of cloth Ueffe ries 1995).
The surface of clotl1 produced by weave is infinitely variable in texture , depending on
loom type, technique, yarn and weave, but each weaving process has the property of
being a transformation of the singularity of the point to rhe field of the plane . The plane
further offers the surface as me<lium of boundary and interface, and as layer o r substrate.
Weave designer Akaiza Mota is known for her use of colour in complex stripe and check
or plaid designs. Bringing the experience and memory of the intense colours used in
building and decorating from her native Sáo Tomé and adoptive Portugal to the traditional
sobriety uf British textiles, Mota led innovation in th e rextil e de sign - tartans, stripes and
knits - for Paul Smith in the UK befare becoming a senior furnishing fabric designer at
Zar a Home in Spain. Mota was awarded the Marianne Straub travel award to investigare
colour and des ign in Sáo To mé, and the Althea McNish prize for colour design (established
by McNi sh, the first Black British textile artist of international reputation) for a series of
experiments which show the 'windings' o f th e thread s to be used to warp a loom before
weaving. Mixing pigment to find the exact colo~rs need:d, and usin~ silk thread for its
quality of holding colour and its sheen, Mota _d1d not dtscard the stnpes _of thread that
were hand-wound onto strips of card, a techmqu e used by weavers to des1gn the loom's
warp, and these w ere exhibited as artefacts, revealing the skilful use of colour by weavers.

Plaiting
Sixth, plaiting, a word derived from the word 'ple~t', and which ha s within it the Latin
root pt·,, d enotmg
· t h e con cept of fold · Plaiting is a lmear
. . and . planar form of woven knot
that rep 1aces t h e c 1osure o f the knot with the potent1al mfimty of weave. The advantage

"f.

Scanned by CamScanner
 s:q

THE HANDBOOK OF TEXTILE CULTURE

0
· · g ovcr loom wc:wc 1·s rhc allsencc o f rcc¡111ology• A plaired
f p l:.11t111 · .
srrip is a plain hand-
wt·:wc lll · w 1m:h · warp srr:111d s are mrer· 1:1c:c d. TI1c m.:1rer1·a1 ' funcrron . ' ro gene
. .rare surface
f1'0111 l.III C, IS· :1lso lll tr:111s f01'111t Il C fI r~1g1·1·ltYO f :1 Slll
.· l:,•le rl1rcad
'
w1rh rhe rensrle stre ngrh of a
11111 · ¡· · · l ¡ ·
111p1c11y ni r 1rc:1ls 111a srruc:turc ol mrcr ac111g. ,' .. · 1 · Pla1·r1
·11 g , 11ores Kirsten. Scort (2012)
. in
her s111dyof thc 1r:1di1io110 f womc11's h:1nd-pbi rcd rexriles for sleep mg mats 111 rural
tl~a11d:1,is :1pnwnful S)'mhol for thc srrcngrh in co-cxisrence which , on severa ! levels of
111eani11 ~. is :1 furubmcnt :il 1.':haractcristil': nf soci:ility (see Piare 6. 1). Th e facr rhat women
, · bl. . 11 .
wc:\Vc rhc pbitnl sk cping 111 :irs whcn sc:ired ourdoors 111 pu re space, m co ecrive,
cu ll:1hur:1rivl· g,roup s. whil~ di :minµ :md cmbr:tcing b:1bies and chi ldren, is one fearure of
this tcxtilc pr:1cricc as :1 rulrural form rhar illustrnres. rhrough irs riruals , rhe funcrion of
sm:it:ry as a mc:111 s of sccm inµ irs rcprodu crion. Thc women make rhe arrefacts wh ilsr also
'wc :wi11~·tlw c111orio11 :1I rhrl'ads thar sccure rhc arrachmcnrs berween one another and
hc1wcc11~l·1wr:11io11s. Workinµ with a rural Uµand:rn ,·illagc over rcn years, Kirsten Scon
lHHiccd how rhc ritual pr:ll'ticc of plairing providcd a place of inregrarion bcrween women
fro111difkr c11tloe.ti ~lw.lim. Chrisri.m ami trib:11culture s as rhc work of making rexriles
:111dr:1isi11µ childrcn w:1s sh:1rl·cl. Scott notl'S che slel'ping mar as one elemc nt in the
sig.nifyi11µl'l.:011omyrh:ir inclmk s m:mrc ss. marrix, material and morher, ali of which are
forms of ~.-11lturcand SllCil'tyrhar renJ ro hl'comc im·isiblc, uncon scious or undervalued.
Thl' m :11 :1s s11hs1r :1tc tit' slccp signities rhe morher' s role :1sguardian of rhe liminal space
ht't Wl't:11Cll11scious :md u1ico11scioussdf , :rnd as keepcr of rhc voyage rhrough sleep.
Scnrr :ilsti nores rhc siµnitic:mce of rhc drn amic berwccn uniformiry :md irregulariry
wirhin rhc h:rnd-madt· pbir. suggesring rhar whilsr cvenness and uni formiry in partern is
v:il11t'das cvidrnc c of skilkd crafrsmanship. the irregulariry in rexrurc is especially Yaluable
as a symhol of rlll' prcsc11l'eof rhc hand :md rhc (m:nernal) body or rouch . Kirsren Scon,
:1 succcssful cmHurc millinl'r in thl· \X1l'st. was COlKl! rned to ,·alue rhe plaired macerials
rhmu µh \Vcstcrn :1s well as indigl'nnus ,·:iluc sysrcms, :rnd iniriared a rrade in the palm
plair for millincry. S'-·orr:ilsn stiurcl'd hisroric pl.1ir tcchniques from che :1rchiYesof rhe
British srr.1w-har imlusrry :n rhc \V:mlmrn P:1rkMuseum. Luron, in order ro bring a wider
r:rngl· of illlHn·:itin· mcrhods ro che llp ndan women·s repertoire. Sharing millin~rv skills
of scwi11µ.sh:1pinµ ami Jl' signing, Scorr found rhar rhc "ilbge women .._ \\·ere wi!Íing ro
invcnt ami const rucr a wide sclcction of hats. such ::ispe:1ked caps, fascinarors, roques,
visors. s1111h :irs ami bonnl't s. Thl' har :is :m :ilrcrnarive ro hairsn·le headscarf or rradirional
hcaddrl's s µl'11n.1tl'dintl'rl' t in rhc culrurcs of moderniry. :ind qu:stions about rhe conduct
of famil~· lik in othcr culture~. Tht· collecrion. produced in an ar ray of different pbit
strks ami h:md-d ycd colours. tnund a marker in regional rouri sm. nacional culrural events
(such as rhc :lllll\1al ~o:1 ~
r r:icc)
. :rnd intcrnario!l'll • milliner,.· rrad • e fa1rs.· Scort ,s research
rr:tccd rhc .
ninst'lJlll'nccs
.
ot rt·muner:irion
. .
for :1 tradirion
•
·lll,·
• . .
tlllp ·d k h
:11 ,,·or · on t e srrucrur
e
of mntTl:ll!l', f.urnly :111dsoctl'ty. :rnd tound rhar whcn .~.1r 11· · .
. ' . --· mg an mcome women \\ ere
or c h1l!hh· rcspcct'l'd by rlw1r husb:inds. wcn: ·1ble ro p:i,· f
111 · • . ' · . or t he1r 1 ren ,s seh oo ¡·1ng
· e h'Jd
n11dwcrc abk to buy h\'l'sruck to t·nh:rnce thc famih· and .·¡¡ .
• ' ' 1 .1ge resource s.

Drapi11g
StvL·nth. folding and dr:irin~ are pcrh;ipsrhcsi mnlc t 3 ¡ d. . .
. . . ' · · mosr iagramm:1nc rcpr csenranons
o t rhc t:l!tl :1s :1 strucrnn : rh:1t l'p1tom1zcs borh rhc 111 ¡ • ·
· orp 10 1og" o f huma b' loin· (brain
and nt·m(llPl!Y) .llld t hc t.:ulrur.11sysrems ot S\'tnhol' ~t . '"· n ro o.- . h
.. .1 . . ic re ano ns. Found . rure in t e
curnltm·ar pw pcrt\' tit 1d1·.,I tllO\'Cmcm in t'or · m na f
· . · ms trom :1ro · h eo
ga laxics. as wcll as thc g.rowrh of hrliotrupic planr.; ti F'b · ~ic s?'ucrnre ro t os .
- · l e 1 onaccr enes of shell srrucrures

Scanned by CamScanner
~l.\~I~( ~ KNO\X'N; T I IE TEXTILES T()OL.I\OX 89

.m~Ie1n~r\'onic
. ·. . ,~t'n)' in
onto 1tan
tn ,,mm:1
" · · 1s, the form and structure of th e fold 1s
anima ·
rsi' "·1.tlly to1111dIII t he tcxtile proprn sitv to dr:ipe.
. . I\ Ct' , of tht·
. .Evid . hid1
, nl11e
' ·'lec ore1t' l 1to<
' 1rape 111 · early cultur es ,s· found in· the Anato 1tan
·
~-1\'lh
. t.\tllll\S tt'Xttlt·s
. :\lid
. i11F")'l)li'lll
· r- • , S1·1n·1"··r1 , C ret:in, (',reek, an d Rornan 1conogra
' ;111 . phy.
111
1_h "·:irt· takt·n ~·ar\'lng th c strucrure s of complex textil e folds into marble, evident in
l:~"1'11:lll st -11_11:iry,_sl'.ows that the tcxtile fold was :is significant as the face and the so-
c ,lk d An:h.,ic St\ Hk of :rncirnt Greck sc11lpture from the Archaic period . The fold as a
sm_11.·rnrt· th:it rt'\'eals the invisihility of interiorit y is, perhaps, the material equivalent of a
sm,lc-.
, Tl~t: fold :~s :1_ch:1rac1ai stic of E11ropean Enlightenment thinking in the writin gs of
(üitttrinl Ll'll~n1z (l 646-1 7 16) is famo11slyexplored by French Structuralist Gilles
Dr lc·11tt'. who tollows the curvili11c:1rit) ' of Baroq11cand Mannerist pictorial perspective as
:1 l'ri111.
·il'k of '11111ltiplicity' ami the mon:td (Dcle11z e 1993 ). Leibniz, also known as a
sdH1 Llr of Sinology, publish,~d studics of Chinesc civilization that havc yet to be integrated
inw the pnst·Ddemi;in cxploration of the exct:ssive anJ tran scendental structure of the
l\,1wq1tt'.Soft lo~ic has t·tuhlt-d thc rationalist grid of binaristic logic to be qualified by
pwp1.·rtit·s of movcmc' nt, thc kinaesthetic :tnd the durational. Movement takes place in
tinw, the b.1sis of moddling of innovator y, post-Ncwtoni:tn astrophysical theories.
'xtilt- dt·si~n1.·r:rnd r1.·st·:trchcrRadi e! Philpott (2007 , 201 O, 2011, 2013) has explored
T1.
tht· inld as a tt'Xtik propc rty ow r severa! years, working with thermo sensitive nonwoven
f.ibrirs to m.1kt· a s1.·ric :s of prototypcs of textiles with the capacity to fold and unfold
:H.Yordin~ to p:m crns of movt·mcnt ami direction . The folding surfaces greatly multiply ,¡

th1.•dirt·ctionalit )' of pi.mar surfaces in ways th:tt could, for example, be used in the
ahsorption of sobr ligl1t.The display ami demonstration of the severa! fold prototypes is
best tr:msmitted through timc-based media such as film, thereby showing the textile in
mo,·t·mc-mand pro cess.
Tht~clrapc is, in fashion design, considered one of the thre c fundamental structures of
tailoring ami dressm:tking. Along wirh cut :rnd silhouette, drape is a textilc material
propt·rty rlut tr:rnsform s cloth into clothing. Thc play of clinging and falling, as figured
in 111,tking :1mlwearing clothing, is onc of the most profound materializations of human
culture considcrt'd as a mcch:1nismfor calibrating proximity and distance bctween bodies
ami sclves, individual s, groups :1nd:1bstractcollectivities. As a materialization of separation
and spatial dimcn sionaliry the folJ anJ the ~lra p_cinvites thc c~nce~rualizatio~ of abstraer
thou~ht. lntrin sic to this pb y, thc /11du s, of 1llus10n anJ occlus1on, 1sthc functton of cloth
as co~11.•rin g, as curt:tin, vcil :rnd shroud (Pajaczkowsk:t 2008).

C11tti11g

TIlt' c1g · 1H 11 process ·1s Cl,rtt'ni• o·

Net'tl1er exclusive to textiles nor inherently textilian, cutting
.· . . . .
ll,l~. . ¡ e c·>f111,.,..n 1·n,•s in fash1on and textiles that generares new quesuons
n,·vc:rrlt ' 1c:ss, ;t rang "·· o . . . .
.,.. ,ll ¡ forms o f re flccuon · u· 1 pr •·icr,·ce· The prox11111ty of cloth :rnd clothmg
.
to the skm, and
ti · 1·i· h lefences that psychoanalyst Esther Bick noted as a 'second
lt'lr a ) 1 lt )' to 1)CCO lllC t e ( . . . . 1 > . 1·. •••
skin· (Hick ), m:ikc thc cumng proccss onc wh,c 1 materia 1zes anxtctte~, thoughts
1968
· t . ¡f h - -rcspond enccs bctwccn body, culture and material (Hallam
anlt 10~1ct cnH 'l rom t e co . f · .
and lngold ). Psychoan alyst Bruno Bctt~lhc1m ( 1955 ), or cxam~lc, in S~mb~l,c
2014
\"' ds: flu bni)' Rtt('S
. ¡ ti EnviottsMalebnng s thc ethnograp.hy of ritual scanficat1on
"º"'' . . . am ,e· , tliat the wtting of sktn
· 111
· nte
· s o f passage tcstt·fies to thc
to ,lnJ 1vuc cons1dcrJt1on, noung · 1 · ·
. ' · . f I .. \IOUngpeople leave thc1r ro e as mmors m order to
sh.umg of cxpcricnccs o oss as ,

1
·1
~\

Scanned by CamScanner
 THE HANDBOOK OF TEXTILE ClJITU ll E
90

become reinregrated inro society as neophytes or adult Subje~ts. Curring is ~ccn as a

symbolic wound, which gives social recognirion to rhc cxp~ncn ce and rravatls of r~1c
transition from one form of dependency to a differenr srare of ,nrcrdcpcndcn cy and social
reciprocity. .
Anrhropologist Mary Douglas frequenrly addresses rextilc as a cultural form. Her
essay on folklore, analysing a varianr of rhe Red Riding Hood stor)', inrcrprcrs rhc ralc as
a play on feminine rites of passage (Douglas 1996). E.lsewherc, Dougl:ts norcs rhc sra111s
of uncut cloth in Indian cultures as pure, and the cut clorh as polluted (Douglas 1966).
Symbolic rituals accompany the transition from one srare to rhe orher. In Onhodox
Judaism the tearing of clorhes and the clraping of mirrors accompany rhe rirnals of
mourning in 'sitting shiva'. Judaism also includes a prayer to be rccircd on wcaring ncw
clothes. The cut may rhus be understood as a symbolic reprcsenrarion of an imaginar)'
separation (Lacan's definition of psychic 'castration '). Rirnals cvidence uncon scio11sego
ambivalence, maintaining a rension between aggressiveand libidinal insrincrs, as rhesc are
acrivared in rhe painful work of mourning.
The cut, incision or indentation macle by thc hand by applying harcl marrcr ro soft is
rhe second origin, afrer thread, of line. The imporrance of line as trace of a forccful
impacr of inrentionaliry (agency) of self onro matter is cspecially evidenr in rhc signifying
chain rhar leads from srylus ro sryle. The tool rhat impresses marks inro sofr clay rablc1s,
such as those used in rhe earliesr 'writing' of Sumerian maps, bccomes rhe prosrhesis rhat
amplifies rhe will, and rhus rhe self, of a social subject.

Styli11g
Finally, rherefore, r~1~ninrh process, ~ryling,is here discussed as a material proccss. The
legacy of Claude Lev1-Srraus s to texnle culture is an understandin g of thc materiality of
language-like
. .. structures (Lévi-Str
. . auss .J 978)
. · ,v,¡w 1ereas sry1· mg. 1s · presenr 111 · rexnle · practlC ·C
1t 1s more
. pronounced
. 111 fash1on th111k111g
. , where styl,.st· ·
1c 111nov :1tton 1s, m irse , t11c
· · · · lf
material
, · 1or · ,·med1um b of meanmg and . . exchange
' · Fashion
' ti1·mk.mg - a. furr 11er 1teratton · · of
rexnle r 11nk111g . ur also
d b a culture 111
ns own righr ' whicl ¡ 1
1 s 1ares r 1c meanmg o r 1c e1g· f ¡ · 1H
processes d ·fie
· 1scu d sseb a ove - also has. properties that ' d enve · from fas.I11011 · as a spcc1
mod er111 st an ur an culture of clothmg•produced b l· · d ·
· d · 1 · - Y mee 1a111zemass manufacture 1n
t 11e 111usma cap1ta11stera. ·
Modernit y may be defined as a culn1re that eme d 111 · ¡1 . 1
cenruries in Europe from the rap·d b . ' . rge t e eighteenrh and ninerecnr l
, , ur amzanon rhar followed 11 . d . ¡· . d
mechanizarion of manufacn,re and fact . d . t c 111 usrna 1zatton an
' e ory pro ucnon . fashio11 . d 1 . .. 0 f
rexrile production . Modernity is the , f . ' is, to ay, t 1c ma1or s1te
re ore 1111erem1 to f 111 . 1 . k. .1 .s
concomitanr cultures of mass media and ¡ d. . as 011 t 1m ·mg: w1r1 1t.
. t le iscourses of . . . . c1·.
and transpon , 1t enables fashion ro be f. II sc,encc, scculanty, me 1c1nc
. . . more u y unde t d f 1
relanonsh1p of the 'sub1ectin rhe crowd' U . . rS oo as a product o t 1c
. . . . . 1
. smg c or11111g and d. f
transm1ss1on.fash1on th111kmgis characterized b , a ' appearancc as a me 111m_~
11
that valucs markers of innovarion and cha f) ' umber of fearmes. Thc ncopluh:1
, nge or the sak f 1 . c1·.
rat her t 11an as a mcans of copying markers f . ' e o r 1e1r play on tra 1t10ll ,
. h . . 1 h . . o status, wealrl1 . 1 . . 1
,s t e pnnc1pa c aractcnsnc of fashion thi k. c1· . ' , socia and cconomic c:1p1ra,
. n mg, isringu. 11. f . 1
approac h seen 111costume and dress histo N . is mg ash1on from rhc culnira
. . · ry. cophtlic i · . ¡
secon d fcarure o f fash1011thmking: its h . . . nnovar1on 1s dcpendcnt on t H'
. . . f h. f yper-soc,alit)' A
part1c1pants 111as 1011orm clemcnts of . . · s mcmhcrs of a social group,
.mnovat1on . as a s1gm . ºfi.er. Thc rh,rd. norabl a fsocial and cu 1.tura 1 c1rcmt . .
which tr 'll\SlllltS
.
' e earure of fas! · h' '
' · llon t 1nking is rhc heighrcne ·
· d

Scanned by CamScanner
MAKJNG KNOWN: T HE TEXTILES TOOU\OX ') 1

reciprocity of its culture: highly collnbor:ui\' c :md intcrnclivc, 1hc (1shi1rn pnrticip:lllt is
offered ag_encyas a s~tbject 'i n rdmion co· her mlwrs. T his hci~htcncd rct:iprm:it)' is :1
perform_:mv_e cel~brar1on and \'alid :uion of rhc rdnri onnl q11:lli1ics I h:11:1rc, :lt:l·ording tn
ncurosc1emist Sm:on Baron-Cohcn. c:-pccially 'fcminitH.''. :is rhc ct11p:1d1it: sidc of :1
spectrum that calibrares the relacion bcrwccn rcripnwic y :111d:rntiscic :1t1d prn t:cdur:d
thinking (Baro n-Coh en 2003). A fourrh fe:Hmt· of foshilln 1hit1ki111: is its n(íinity ro
bespoke, personalized and cusrnmizcd fininl.! :1s :1ck11 nwlcdt•1·t1H'tl; of i11divid11:di1y.
Wherher matcrializ ed in forms oí :1dornmcm: tkrnr!ltion, nn~:1111cn1:1ti1111, 111
:1qnill:igc,
styling or 'drape ', the cusromi zacion of tht· foshio11idiom is :i sig11ilicrof thc v:1l11cof
clifferencewirhin colkcciviry. The fifrh fr:uurc ot fashillt1rhinkinµ is its :1d:1privc pli:1hility,
which relate s to, bm differs from. irs 1wnphili:1.Thl' pby uf i1111ov:11in11 1h:1rd1:1r:1c1crii' .CS
ali modernist arr depends on knowkc\ gc ui histnrv :rnd ics 1. :lltl\'l't1ti<lns :1s m:1rcri:1Ifor
reirerarion and ludie arricubrinn. Thl' :1d:1pri\'C qu;ilitr of f:1shion 1hi11ki11g cxtc nds t:his
garne of moderni sr innovari on wirhin a cirl·uit intn ;111:1d:1ptivl' rcl.11io11ship to thc rc:tlil'y
of rhe oucside world with irs prcdic:rn11.:nts nf. for c:-::1mpk. cl:1ss idc.:ntity, cthnit' diffcrcn cc,
gender conventions and concc rns for sus1:1in:ihili1y.politi-.:s :md pown . F:1shi1111 rhinking
is quick ro recognize and dissemin:ttc thCSl' co1Kerns. Thc tin:11fc:1rnrc of f:tshion rhinking
exrends from rhe ludie inno\':Hion of rhc modl'rni sr pby 011illusion :md disillusion to :1
fully ludie qualiry of rhe joke. E1shiün is parod ie. s1·lf-p:1rodk, knowing, fu1111y ami f11t1.
This aspecr of le\'iry and humour is. pcrh:,ps. wh:H has inspirc.:drhc gn::11cs1rcat:tions oí
disdain and conrempr from schobrs :md orhcrs. R:1dic11lyi11s11hordi11afc , sharin g rhe
cultural agencr of rhe ' rricksrer' (like ~ l:lrnnaím :1 rhc.:Br:11 .ili:m rrickstcr hcro) :rnd rhc
'shape-shifter', fashion rhinking is assnci!ltcd with rlw culrnrc of rcsistatKc :md rcvolurion
of an underclas s, revelling. srudiously :111dnnscriously. in pcrforming irs altcriry as thc
'feral underclass' of bourgeois propriety.
A researcher and pracrising pmfrssir,11:11fashion phorogr:1phcr. Nick Clcmcnts (2011)
has used rhc histo ry of cinemZ'I:rnd tlw dornmt·nt :1ry phorugr :1phy oí t·omcmporary
cultures of reviva) and re-enacrmenc ro c:-:plon·rhc 1·mngc11n· of :1 ncw f:1shioncnltmc in
his project entitled 'Re ,·ival: rhe Acschcrics of Rc\'iv:il Suhi:ulturcs :md Rc-c.:11:Krmcnt
Groups Explored Through Fashion lmagl·-111 :1kin~.' llsinµ cksiµn history :md thc wnrk of
the Birmingham Centr e for Co nrcmporary Cuhur :il Srndics to 11-;Kcrhc cmcrgcncc of
post-war whirc working-class malc subculntrl' in thc l lK, Cll'llll'llts prndu ccd :1 mcnswcar
collecrion. a journal. A~k,r ·.- File. and a scrit:s ot ph111uµr.1phsth:1t :11.'.t'llr:ncl y dctail thc
sr:ylisricspecificiry of rhc way rhac ncw idcmiries of 11'. :1sc'.il_inity wcrc m:11cri:1lizcd(scc
Piare 6.2). Clemenrs rhcn rr:.ces rlw !!lob:il imp:1rr ot Bnt1sh yomh subculturc within
fashion and re-enacrmenr reviva! s11bc11lrun:s tod:1y. :md workcd with Lcwis l.c:1rhcrs to
design a black learher jacket which rt·cog1~izc~ch.t· au~hcn~it'icyof i~s stylisric somt:cs.
Clemems' research reminds rhac rhc w0r 1't:ish1on clcnvcs trom thc hcnd, word (a<;cm,
invoking thc 'way' rhat somerhinl! is done. s:1id. Wllrn or mc:mr. Stylc i~, thcrdorc,
fundamentally a process. :, ·way·. rnchcr chan ~:1r1~1cnt _s rhcmsclvc> :11H~ thts proccss of
· · · ¡
Producmg meanmg t irm , . '- igtt dt
' ff--
r cncc :.nd
· innov11 n o111s I he rdkcr. 1on ot thc l:1111111:1,•c
e-, e-,
of
culture irself.

CONCLUSION
This . ff "pt11al 'rnolbox·. containin~ nim: qnalirics of tt·xtilc thinking,
essa) o ers a concc • ¡· 1 · k' ·
in-! c1· f r .¡· to•
., which rders 10 f.ls lll'll t 1111·m~ and wh1d1 has six
1.: u mg one conccpr o s )' 111

features of its own .

Scanned by CamScanner
 THE HANDBOOK OF T EXTIi. E CULTUKE
92

The aim of this chaptcr, as part of thc Ha11dbooko( Textile Culture, is to propose that
thc distinctions drawn, in acadcmic discourse and research protocols, berwecn thcory and
practil.:c of textiles is a convention thar inhibirs episremic innovation in rhe arts and
humanitics ;tlike. When ir is more rcadily acceprcd rhat rhe knowledge of pracritioners
can illumin:itc thc absrractions of historians and thcorisrs it will be possiblc for rhe cultural
agcncy of textiles ro be more fully undersrood and recognizcd . Unril rhcn, ther e is srill the
dang cr that textiles will be considcrcd an 'applied art', a form of commerce, or will
co ntinuc i-o cmcr rhc archive only as part of rhc collections from aristocratic or bourgeois
intcriors or garmcms , classed in rcrms of provenance rarhcr rhan undcrsrood in terrns of
the making. Ir is one innovation and originality of this Handbook that it makcs a valuable
contrib11tion to the evidencc for a rcvolutionary way uf rcconsidering thc cultural praxis
of textiles, and, by extension, ro thc considcration of crcative practice itsclf. To explicare
silent knowledgc is to offer a toolbox of rropcs rhar rnay cnablc makcrs to give a more
pcrmanent verbal or written accounr of rhcir work in a more confident way by finding
wo rds and conccpt s thar do jusrice ro thc complcxiry of rhcir logic and grasp of matter
and mcaning. Thc wriring of practicc is nota ncw orthodoxy but dcpcnds on rhc maker
fin<ling thcir own idiomaric form of recognition, textual cxprcs sion and dcnotation of
thcir expcrience ami knowlcdgc. Likc ali testimonies toan expericnce, like ali tcstaments
to a transform arive process, each texr is uniquc.
A 111cthod o logical study of rhe diffcrent rechniques of recording, denoting and
classifying pracricc enables each makcr to identify the ways in which her or bis practice is
ncw ami original. Thc cxisting cxamples of a crcarive practice are identified, dcscribed
and co mpared. The comparativc srudy is thc rnethodological study that enables a
practirioner or researchcr to identify thc mcthod rhat is complctely thcir own. A mcthod
may be hybrid or inrcrdisciplinary, or cven an application of thc rheory of another ro
011<:'s own practicc. In doctoral practice-lcd rcscarch it is useful to explore an
autoethnograph y th~t cnablcs onc:S practicc to generare data for analysis and discussion.
K11 o ~vlcdgc_of 111arcr1
~ls ar~drcdrnrqucs can constitutc a conceptual toolbox for thinking,
and 1swhy rt bclongs 111 a ícxtrlc manual, which is a gift for makcrs. This is also why rhis
proccs s is callee! ' Making Known'.

REFERENCES
A11zic11,Didicr.
. 1989. Thc Ski11Ego
. (trans. Chris Turner)· New Haven, C T: YaleUnrversrry . · press.
Bcn_.clhc1111, Bruno. 1955 . Symbol,c \Y/ou11ds:l'ttberty Rites a11c¡ l he E:.1w1ous
. Malc. London:
íha111t·s & Hudson.
Bick, Esther. 196 8. 'Thc Expcricnceoí d1e Skin in Ea ( , Ob'Ject 1{e Iatron
~ r >
. ·' I t 1· /
11
Joumal o( Psychoanalysis, 49: 484-486. s. erna wna
13aron-Cohcn, Si111011. 2003 . The Esse11tialDif(erence·M Wi
Bmin. London: ¡\llcn Lanc. . en, omen and thc Extreme Male
Braung.1r1.Michael. :111dMcDonough Williarn 2008 e di
,. . '
Mt1kc lhmgs. LonJon: Jonarhan Cape.
· · ra e lo Crad/ . R k · ti \wayWe
e. ema mg 1e ,v,
Clcments. Nick. 2011. 'Reviva!:the Aesthctics of R · 1
. . . . cvrva Subculturc. d I' .
(,rnup s bpl ored íhr ough 1-ashion 111.131,c rn k' , s an ,e-cnacrment
o • a rng M PI11 ·1 J1 •
London. · · t es1s, Royal College of Art,
Dd cuzr . Gilles. 1993. 'fhe Fold: Leibniz and ti,e J>
,amque Lo d A
Dour,l;,.s,Mar)'. 191)6. 'A Frcnch Rcading oí Linl R d . ·. .n on: · thlonc Press. .. I
J:ss,1ys 011( ;ond 'laste. 1.o ndon : S;,gc. e e Riding Hood.' In Thought St)'les:Cnt1ct1

Scanned by CamScanner
t-.l1\KINC.KNOWN: THE TEXTIi.ES TOOLBOX 9.\

1)011gbs,Mary. 1966. l'urity and Da11g cr. London: Routlcdgc.

Frcud, Sigmund. l 9 10/ 1957 . 'Thc Anri1hcric:1IMc:1ningoí Primal \Xlords.• 111C:ollrrtccl Hi¡)(•rs,
Vol. 1V. London : Hogarr h, pp. 184- 19 1.
Frcml, Sigmund . 1923/1964. TI": Ego all(I t/Jc Id. London: Hog:inh l'rcss.
Gcll, Alfrcd. 1998 . Art rmd Agency. Oxfor d: Cl:trcndon Prcss.
Glasscr, Mcrvin. l 979 . 'S0 111c Aspcc1sof rhc Role of Aggrcssio11in 1hc Pcrvcrsiom.' In l. Rost:11
(cd), Sexual Dcviations. Oxford : Oxíor d Univcrsi1yl'rc.:ss.
Hallam, l~lizabcrh and lngold, Tim.2014. Maki11gand Growi11g : J\11
tlm,¡mlogical Studies o(
Orga111s 111
s mu/ Artc(acts. Farnh:1111: 1\ shgarc.:.
Hijosa, Carmen. n.d. 'Ananas Anam: New M:ircrials ami 1\fapp ing íor ·1,vr111 y-firs1 Ct:ntm y
Design.' Availablc onlinc: http ://www.rca.:1e.11k / rcscard1-in1H> vari1111/rt:sc:1rclt/c11nT11t ·
rcsc:1n:h/a11:1n:1
s-anam-11cw-m:1tcrials-:111d-111:1 ppi11 g-Í<>r·t wc111
r-f/
Jcffcries, J:inis. 1995. 'Tcxt ami Tcxrilcs: \XlcavingAno ss 1hc Bordcrlincs.' In K:iry Dcc.:pwdl
(ccl), New Fe111i11ist Art Criticism. Ma11chcs1cr:Mand1c~1cr lJ11ivcrsi1yPrn,s.
Karanib, Myrto. 20'14. 'Lonk ing ar rhc Cross111od :tl 1hro11gh1hc ·1cx1ilc Mcdium.' }0111 ·11nlu(
Textilc Dcsig11Rescarc/Ja11d/1mcticc, 2 ( 1): 89- 108.
Klaniczay,S:ir:i. 2012. 'lmrc Hcrn1ann: Rcsc:m:hing Psyd 1c and Sp:ict:.' In J11di1SzC- k:lcs-Wl'isz.
Tom Kcve and Pcrer L. Rudnytsky (cds), 1-' cm, cú (111( / /Jis World: J<di11 dli11¡.:t/J1•S¡,irit o( t/JI'
B11da¡,est Schoo/. London: Karnac Books.
Klein, Mclanie. 1930. 'Thc lmportan cc oí Symbol For111:1tion in rhc Dc.: vclopmclll of di e Ego.'
llltematio11a/Jounra/ o( Psychoa11alysis, ·11: 24-3 9.
Kris, Ernst. 1953. 'Psychonnalysis ami thc Snidy oí thc Crt:ativc h11aginntio11.' /J11lh ·ti11o( tlH·
New York Academy o( Medicine, 29 (4): .1.14-.15 1.
Kristeva, Juli:i. 1980. Dcsire in La11 g11
agc: A Scmiotic A¡,¡,roac/J to Utcmt,m · a11dArt.
Leon S. Roudiez (ed), T. Gora et ni. (t-rans.). Ncw York: Columbia Univcrsi1y
Prcss.
Kiichler, Susannc. 2003. 'lmaging thc ílndy Poliric: Thc Knor in thc l':icific l111agin ntio11.'
L'hommc: revuc (ram;aised'a11t/Jro¡,u/ogie, 165: 205- 222.
Lévi-Strauss, Claudc. 'I 978. Myt/J a11dMca11i11 g. l.ondon : Ro11rl cdgc ;111clKcgan l':1111.
Mitchell, Victori:i. 2012. 'Textiles, ·1cxr ami 'lcchnt:.' In Jcssica l·lc111111ing s (cd), 11n: Ti.·xtil,·
Reader. Lonclon: Bcrg.
Milner, Mario n. 1950/201 O. 011Not bei11gAl,/e to n1i11t.l.011dn11; Ncw York: Routlcdgc.
Pajaczkowsb, Clairc. 2008. 'The G;mlcn oí Edcn: Scx, Shamc :111dKnowlcdgc.' In Clairc
Paj:iczkowska ancl Ivan Ward (ecls), Shame (//1(/ Scx11ality:l'syc/Jormalysis (1/fd Visual Cultu re.
London: Routledge .
Parker, Rozsika. 1989. The Subversive Stitch: 1:.mbm idcry and tlu: Maki11go( tlJe Fe111i11i11
c.
London: Womcn's Press.
Philpott, Rache!. 2007 . 'Structural Textiles: Adapiivc Forrn & Smfacc in Thrc c Dimcusinns.' In
Sandra Kcmp (ed), Researcl,RCA. London: Royal Collcgc oí Arr.
Philpott, Rache l. 201 o.'Wnys of Knowing :ind Making: Sc:1rd1ingfor an Opt'intnl lntcgrntion
of Hancl ami Machi ne in rhc Tcxrilc Dcsign l'roccss.· In l'roccl'rli11gs o( thc '/cxtil c /11stitut c
Centenary Con(erence: Textiles: a Global Visi<m.M:1~ichcsrcr: ·~·he ·1cx_1 il~ _111
st i1111
.c.
Philpott, Rache!.2011. 'Strncrurnl 'Icx tilcs: Ad:ipr;iblc.:h1r111:111d
S11rfru
.:c 111l hrt:c· D1mc11sions.'
PhD thcsis, Royal Co llegc of Art, L.011d on .
Philpott, Rache!. 2013. 'Engin ecring Oppor111nitics for Origi1_1ali1y ai~d lnvcntio'.1:'l'he
,..k
1mporr:ince o f· PIay fu I M,, ·111g ;is l)cvclopmcnt:11Mcthod m Practrc·c-lcd Dcs1g11
·· Hc·s
·· carch ·•
Studies i11Material Thi11ki11g, 9: 1- 16.
Sandler, Joseph (cd) . 1987. Fmm Sa(ety to Super<:f{O. l.ondon: Karn:tc.

Scanned by CamScanner
 TI W I IANDHOOK OF TEXTIL!~ ClJCíUl{t
94

stíc&(tra11~. WacJcBa~kín).
Saussure, Fcrdinand de. 1910-1911/201 l. Course in Cenera/l.ín¡ptÍ
New York: Columbia UnivcrsiryPrcs5.
Cros~-culwr,11Co111n1L111
Scort, Kirstcn. 2012. 'PiJgin Plai1:Fashio11i11g icrttíun ThroughCraft.'
PhD thcsis, Roy:11Collcgc of Arr, London.
Sennctr, Rich:1rd.2008. Tl,c Cra(tsma11. l.ondon: Allc11l.,111c.
Scnncn, Richard. 2012. 1ogether:the Hituals, /10/itics all(/ /1/emmres and J'olitics o( Coo¡,erati
on.
Ncw Havcn, CT: YalcUnivcrsiry Pres~.
Shercliff,Emma. 2014. 'Anicul:iringS1i1ch.'PhD rhcsis, Hoya!Collcgc of An, London.
Winnicon, D.W. 1974. Playi11 g a11dReality. Harmondswonh, UK: Pcnguín.

Scanned by CamScanner